These Cities Are At War With Bed Bugs

Here at CitiesJournal, we are usually more concerned with important rankings that have far-reaching implications and which can perhaps even help people choose a new city to live in. Today, we are doing something completely different and sharing with you one of the most interesting new studies of the major metro areas in the United States. More precisely, we will be talking about Orkin’s study of the top 50 American cities in respect to bed bugs. Yes, you read it correctly – bed bugs.

In case you are not familiar with Orkin, they are one of the leading pest control companies in the country, operating in all 50 states and presiding as the country’s leading experts on various types of home infestations, in this case, bed bug infestations. They have been releasing their Bed Bug List for a few years now and their latest numbers have just come in.

In the “very sought-after” first spot, for the fourth year in a row, is Chicago. Once again, the Windy City has had the highest number of bed bug calls according to the people from Orkin and it has already become a tradition of sorts. In the second spot, you will find Los Angeles which jumped two spots since the last year. Washington, D.C. has also made quite a jump, from 14th to 3rd spot this year. Philadelphia has found its way to the list for the first time in four years, straight to spot #6.

Quite a few cities have also done better this year, dropping a few spots since last year. These cities include Dayton, OH and Louisville, KY which both dropped 17 places and Sacramento, CA which dropped 18 spots on the list.

One of the more interesting storylines in this year’s Orkin Bed Bug Cities List is that the Midwest is in the leads, with fourteen cities making the top 50. Orkin has not offered an explanation for this and to be perfectly honest, we couldn’t even speculate on why this is the case.

Orkin would also like to point out that bed bugs do not necessarily mean that someone’s home or business is unclean. They can be found in places as varied as upscale residences, motels, schools and movie theaters. They also added that bed bugs do not spread any diseases, but that they can still cause itching and swelling.